[The Pink Family in the
Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]
Bigleaf Sandwort, Big-leaf Sandwort, Largeleaf Sandwort
Moehringia macrophylla
Synonym: Arenaria macrophylla
Big-leaf sandwort as seen along the Eagle Creek Trail, Columbia River Gorge.........May 10, 2012.
The
photo at right illustrates big-leaf sandwort as photographed along the Crofton
Ridge Trail on Crofton Ridge on the southern flanks of Mt. Adams...........May
28, 2005.
Characteristics:
Big-leaf sandwort is a small perennial with numerous
slender rhizomes which forms loose mats or patches of plants. The stems are
spreading to erect and often branched. They rise 5-15 cm high and are 3 to 4-angled
in cross-section. The numerous leaves are linear-elliptic to lanceolate in shape
with acute tips. The leaves range from 2-5 cm long and 3-15 mm wide.
The flowers are found in loose, bracteate cymes
at the leaf axils and terminus of the stems. The slender pedicels are up to
3 cm long. The sepals are ovate-lanceolate in shape with pointed tips. The 5
white petals range from shorter than the sepals to half again as long as the
sepals.
Habitat:
Big-leaf sandwort is a plant of moist to dry, shaded
to open woods, meadows and rocky slopes.
Range:
Big-leaf sandwort may be found from British "Columbia
southward along both sides of the Cascade Mts. to California. It may be found
eastward to Labrador and the Atlantic coast, and south through the Rocky Mts.
to New Mexico.
In the Columbia River Gorge it may be found between
the elevations of 100'-4800' between the Sandy River in the west and The Dalles,
OR in the east.
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Big-leaf sandwort as seen (left) along the Angels Rest Trail in
the Columbia River Gorge.........May 18, 2009. The photo at right shows big-leaf sandwort as seen along the Hamilton Mountain Trail, Beacon Rock State Park........March 30, 2016.
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Big-leaf sandwort beginning to bloom at the Camas Patch, Carson, WA..........April 23, 2017.
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Big-leaf sandwort as seen (left) along the Dog Mountain Trail in the Columbia River Gorge...........May 4, 2011. The photo at right shows big-leaf sandwort as seen along the equestrian trail in Beacon Rock State Park........April 8, 2016.
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Big-leaf sandwort as observed along the Weldon Wagon Road about two miles east of Husum, WA.........April 19, 2018 (at left) and April 23, 2024 (at right).
The above photo of big-leaf sandwort was shot along Forest Rd
82 at an approximate elevation of 2542' on Mt. Adams.........May 7, 2005.
Paul Slichter